EDITOR’S NOTE: Manitoulin is being transformed with the influx of new residents and business owners who bring with them fresh ideas, experiences, and perspectives that are enriching the area. Some individuals and families are still unpacking boxes, having only moved in the past month or two, while others made the move over the last few years and are now comfortably established in their new communities. Here is one of their stories.
by Heather Marshall
Farming has always been in Peggy Baillie’s blood, even though much of her early life was spent growing up in small towns and cities. Until her parents’ divorce at the age of six, she lived on their cash crop and cattle farm in Beaverton, Ontario. That was followed by a move to Gravenhurst, and; later, Peterborough where she finished high school. However, her love of the land and interest in growing nutritious food was never far from her mind.
Peggy’s 20s were spent moving around Canada, always working in gardening centres and restaurant kitchens to advance her goal of becoming a chef. She had plans to get her Red Seal papers in the trade, but they were sidetracked when she did a year-long internship on a farm outside Hamilton where she learned about growing food to inform her knowledge of how best to cook it. “That year changed my life,” says Peggy. “I got the bug and haven’t looked back.”
Peggy kept moving from farm to farm to learn more about food production until an injury in 2010 was serious enough to require surgery. “That really set me back and made me question whether farming or working in kitchens was feasible anymore. It prompted me to go back to school to study project management, which led to landing a job in Sudbury as the executive director of Eat Local Sudbury, an organization that lined up perfectly with my values and passion for food.”
The co-operative grocery store sold only food produced by area farmers, enabling Peggy to learn about the regional food system and to have a hand in shaping the local food business in Northern Ontario. While there, she worked with the Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario, and other organizations promoting local food production. She also conducted food-related workshops where she met her now life partner, Eric Blondin.
Eric came from a family of avid gardeners and loved helping his dad in the garden as a kid, but he came to farming via a more circuitous route. The Sudbury native lived his entire life in Northern Ontario, spending his childhood summers on Manitoulin where the family had a camp and where his aunt and uncle owned Sunset Motel and Cottages.
Eric completed a degree in political science at Laurentian University and, following graduation, worked as an assistant to the MP in Sudbury at the time. While interesting, Eric admits that politics is hard and somewhat disillusioning, so he switched to working in the Sudbury film industry. He was involved in several French language TV shows as well as working as an assistant director on a few movies. However, that experience too didn’t satisfactorily scratch his career itch prompting him to think seriously about gardening and farming.
Serendipitously, Eric was hired by Peggy at Eat Local Sudbury. A great friendship developed between the two as they connected through their shared passion for food. They began gardening and experimenting on various plots of shared land by generous landowners. Eric volunteered on FieldGood Farms for a year to learn more about vegetable production, as well. “I felt like I was paying tuition to learn what I needed to know to start my own business on a bigger scale,” says Eric. “I could see that farmers were making a good living from livestock and vegetable farming and began to see the potential of operating our own farm.”
By 2013, he was ready to launch his own operation, Le Jardin Blondin Farm, to put his new knowledge to work although he continued to work full-time at the food co-op. By that time, the duo’s friendship had evolved into a long-term relationship and lifetime plans for their future.
“After experimenting in Northern Ontario gardening for a couple of years, we decided to make the jump and jointly bought a farm in Warren in 2015 – the beginning of Three Forks Farms. The name reflected our desire to grow healthy food and to use traditional methods. It also captured our literal geographic location at the fork of two rivers. We’ve maintained that name ever since.”
Among the highlights of their time in Warren, Peggy and Eric grew their farm from one acre and 1000 chickens during their first year to 4.5 acres and 1,400 chickens by year four. They built greenhouses and started vegetable farming, too. Peggy continued to run Eat Local Sudbury throughout this hectic roughly five-year period when they also managed to squeeze in time to get married.
“By year four of farming, we realized we were working for our farm, but it wasn’t working for us. We wanted more time for ourselves and to spend with friends and family. That is when we decided to move the farm to Manitoulin.”
“This farm in Ice Lake was up for sale in late fall of 2019. We took soil samples, walked the property, and concluded this place was right for us.”
In spring 2020, the ambitious couple had to move a whole farm from Warren to Ice Lake in six weeks, including seedlings from greenhouses they’d started, and begin growing crops to sell food by summer. It was a herculean task, especially given that their well ran dry in June and they had to find water pronto, which they succeeded in doing.
Their first year involved going to local markets to sell their wares. Within short order, they had established regular clients who embraced their commitment to growing organic vegetables. Now a certified organic vegetable, chicken and seed farm, Three Forks Farm has expanded to include a weekly box program and, as of 2023, an on-site farm store where people can buy fresh food at the gate. The busy operation has four full-time employees from spring ‘til fall and continues to grow as they add more retail and food service partners across Northern Ontario.
“We didn’t know what the reception would be when we started out here, but it has exceeded our expectations,” sums up Peggy. “It felt like a big risk, yet it has proven to be a great success and we are so grateful to our amazing staff and customers who have helped us to make it all possible.”
*Heather Marshall and her husband worked as journalists and consultants in the National Capital Region for more decades than they care to admit before making their Sandfield cottage their permanent home. A lifelong learner, Heather loves discovering new things and people and relishes the opportunity to write about newcomers to the Manitoulin. If you would like to share your story or know of recent arrivals we should meet, send a message to HAMarshall@proton.me
